The action legend says 1993’s Demolition Man remains “close to happening” today
Hollywood icon Sylvester Stallone has revealed which of his movies he believes has stood the test of time — and surprisingly, it’s not Rocky or Rambo.
Speaking in a recent interview with GQ, the 79-year-old star said that his 1993 sci-fi action film Demolition Man has aged the best out of all his films, calling it “a great movie” that feels more relevant than ever.
“I think it was a great movie. It’s one of the few films that really [holds] up, and it is almost close to happening,” Stallone said.
He added that the film’s satirical depiction of a sanitized, overly controlled society mirrors the modern world.
“It’s the gentle-ization of society, everything’s so meek. I thought it was just very, very contemporary. I thought it was really well done.”
‘Wesley Snipes was wild — he made a great villain’
In Demolition Man, Stallone plays Detective John Spartan, a tough cop who is cryogenically frozen and revived in 2032 to capture his old nemesis, Simon Phoenix, played by Wesley Snipes.
Stallone praised Snipes for his intensity and creativity, calling him a “very memorable villain.”
“Wesley was wild. He’s a wild man — very energetic, good fighter,” Stallone said. “When we were doing kicks, he could really lay into me, and I could feel it. But he really dug down there and gave a memorable character — his hair, his voice — he was at the top of his game.”
Stallone recalls his most dangerous stunts
The actor also looked back on the physically demanding and risky stunts he performed during production.
“That giant claw — sometimes the hydraulics would go sideways, and the strength of those metal claws would tear you up,” Stallone recalled.
He described another terrifying scene involving his character being cryogenically frozen.
“When they froze me originally, they put me in this round tub — thick plexiglass — you couldn’t break it with a sledgehammer. They started pouring in warm oil, and it was filling up to my mouth. If it went longer than 30 seconds, it would’ve gone over my nose, and I couldn’t get out because the lid was bolted on.”
The Rocky star revealed that crew members stood nearby with sledgehammers “just in case,” though even they struggled to break the prop after filming.
“That was crazy,” Stallone said.
A cult classic that feels ‘too real’ today
Directed by Marco Brambilla, Demolition Man has become a cult favorite for its sharp social commentary, humor, and over-the-top action. The film’s futuristic vision — where swearing, physical contact, and junk food are outlawed — has earned new relevance in the era of technology-driven social moderation.
Fans continue to celebrate Demolition Man as one of Stallone’s most underrated films, a blend of satire and spectacle that seems to predict elements of today’s politically correct and tech-regulated culture.
“It’s one of the few that really aged well,” Stallone concluded — a fitting reflection on a movie that might have been ahead of its time.
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